He now faces Democrat Julie Lassa in the general election. The winner will succeed long-time Democratic Congressman David Obey, who announced his retirement May 5.

Duffy, 38, announced his candidacy in the northwestern Wisconsin district last year, before the 71-year-old Obey announced his retirement. Duffy characterized Obey as a top-spending Washington insider and has called for fiscal conservatism.

Democratic Rep. David Obey's seat in Wisconsin's 7th congressional district is the first seat profiled in 'The CNN 100' series between now and Election Day in November.

Washington (CNN) - Though all 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives will be up this November, the battle to control the chamber next year will come down to a much smaller number of congressional districts scattered across the country. CNN has identified the top 100 House races, which we've dubbed "The CNN 100," and will profile one of these races at random each day for the next 100 days until the election. These seats run the gamut both politically and demographically: red states and blue states, urban and rural, open seats and seats with incumbents facing their first competitive race in years. Some are highly competitive, while the race is still developing in others. Today's featured district is:

Washington (CNN) - The National Republican Congressional Committee is weighing in on Rep. David Obey's decision not to run for re-election later this year.

"There is no question that David Obey was facing the race of his life and that is why it is understandable that the architect of President Obama's failed stimulus plan has decided to call it quits," NRCC Communications Director Ken Spain said in a statement.

Washington (CNN) - Sarah Palin marked the one-year anniversary of President Obama's signing of the stimulus bill by urging followers Wednesday to donate money to a former MTV reality star.

Wisconsin Republican Sean Duffy is running in a primary where the winner will earn the right to challenge powerful House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey, a Democrat.

Obey introduced the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, legislation that is also known as the stimulus bill.

"In this election year, we'll see many darling Davids take on entrenched Goliaths," Palin wrote in a Facebook post Wednesday morning. "Just one of these many brave souls is a northern Wisconsin patriot named Sean Duffy."

While never mentioning Obey by name, Palin alludes to him as "a liberal Goliath who's been in Congress over 40 years now."

"Hope lies in draining the swamp in D.C. and sending Commonsense Conservatives to Washington who understand the need for fiscal restraint," Palin wrote.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says a war surtax does not have 'a good prospect.'

Washington (CNN) - Speaker Nancy Pelosi Tuesday poured cold water on a proposal by several top House Democrats to impose a new surtax to pay for the war in Afghanistan.

Pelosi told CNN, "I think the war has to be paid for. That may be one option, but I don't think that has a good prospect."

The surtax proposal–a graduated tax on most taxpayers–was put forth recently by a number of senior Democrats and close allies of Pelosi, including: House Appropriations Chairman David Obey, D-Wisconsin; Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman John Murtha, D-Pennsylvania; Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charlie Rangel, D-New York; and House Democratic Caucus Chairman John Larson, D-Connecticut.

Pelosi, who has expressed concerns about increasing the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan, is scheduled to meet with President Obama Tuesday afternoon to hear details on his new war strategy. She declined to comment on the President's decision to send another 30,000 troops.

"What I've said to the members is: Listen to what the President has to say. Give him room to give his justifications. We will all have something to say about it then."

Washington (CNN) – A leading congressional Democrat who is the chief proponent of a new tax that would fund future military operations in Afghanistan suggested Sunday that continuing to fight the Afghan war under current conditions is “a fool’s errand” and, at the same time, said that his tax proposal would create a sense of shared sacrifice that has been missing in the last eight years.

Rep. David Obey, a Democrat from Wisconsin, is expressing serious reservations about the U.S. military effort in Afghanistan - just days before President Obama is expected to announce a substantial increase in U.S. troops in the country.

“The problem is that you can have the best policy in the world, but if you don't have the tools to implement it, it isn't worth a beanbag,” Obey said on CNN’s State of the Union, “And I don't think we have the tools in the Pakistani government and I don't think we have the tools in the Afghan government. And until we do, I think much of what we do is a fool's errand.”

Although Obey praised the process the president has used to revamp military strategy in Afghanistan, the Wisconsin Democrat who is chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said his differing opinion of the war is caused by consideration of the country’s long term fiscal resources and needs.

Washington (CNN) – A leading congressional Democrat who is the chief proponent of a new tax that would fund future military operations in Afghanistan suggested Sunday that continuing to fight the Afghan war under current conditions is “a fool’s errand” and, at the same time, said that his tax proposal would create a sense of shared sacrifice that has been missing in the last eight years.

Rep. David Obey, a Democrat from Wisconsin, is expressing serious reservations about the U.S. military effort in Afghanistan - just days before President Obama is expected to announce a substantial increase in U.S. troops in the country.

“The problem is that you can have the best policy in the world, but if you don't have the tools to implement it, it isn't worth a beanbag,” Obey said on CNN’s State of the Union, “And I don't think we have the tools in the Pakistani government and I don't think we have the tools in the Afghan government. And until we do, I think much of what we do is a fool's errand.”

Although Obey praised the process the president has used to revamp military strategy in Afghanistan, the Wisconsin Democrat who is chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said his differing opinion of the war is caused by consideration of the country’s long term fiscal resources and needs.FULL POST